A physical disability results in a substantial and long term effect on one’s ability to carry out day-to-day activities. Federal Regulations define orthopedic impairment as one that "adversely affects a child’s educational performance." The term includes impairments caused by congenital anomaly, impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis), and impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures).
Physical disabilities and health conditions are deemed either congenital or acquired.
Congenital - evident at birth or soon after, e.g., spina bifida, cerebral palsy and spinal muscular atrophy.
Acquired - developed through an injury or disease, while the child is developing normally, e.g., traumatic brain injury or muscular dystrophy.
Despite the physical properties, eligibility for special education programs for the orthopedically or physically impaired requires a medical diagnosis. Students with physical impairments may experience difficulty with fine or gross motor skill tasks or neurological impairments that impact organization and independent skills. By law, assistive technology must be considered for all students with an IEP.
The IEP team and the student -together- need to determine how the student's disability affects ability to access physical and curricular materials. Identification of appropriate resources should begin with the "low" tech variety, and work upward on the continuum to a greater degree of involvement should the low tech device prove ineffective. Without the student's involvement, a school team may choose a higher tech item that may prove too complicated, resulting in lack of use.
Shelby Nurse is a graduate of the Pinellas County School System. This is Shelby's story in her words.
.
AT Devices for Students with Physical Disabilities
A physical disability can negatively impact student performance in the classroom. Students with physical disabilities may have difficulty gripping objects or manipulating devices rendering them unable to use keyboards, touch screens, and computer mice as other students do.
Speech recognition is software that allows control of a computer by talking to it, e.g., a student may speak instructions into a microphone connected to a computer instead of using a mouse and keyboard. Commands such as opening, saving, and deleting a document can be performed or text can be entered into a Word document, for example, just by speaking into the microphone. Several companies which develop and market speech-to-text are Dragon Systems, ViaVoice, and Free Speech.
Those students unable to work with a traditional keyboard may be able to use IntelliKeys, a customizable keyboard designed to meet the needs of students with physical disabilities. For students with severe disabilities other options include light directed keyboards or the SmartNav 4 or Dynavox that allows the student to move the mouse through head movements. See the videos below.*
IEP teams need to consider the impact of a student's physical disability on his or her functioning in the school setting. This chart identifies some of the possible educational impacts of students with orthopedic or physical impairment and those with a traumatic brain injury.
Remove physical obstacles so that the student can move freely, such as wider aisles between desks.
Encourage support for the student from classmates.
Consider physical access issues such as ramps, toilets, lifts and classroom layout.
Incorporate advice from the occupational therapist in the student’s program.
Use computers and audio-visual aids in the student’s learning and teaching program.
Special equipment, such as adapted keyboards, page turners, word boards or special desks, may be necessary.
Consider using a tape recorder for those experiencing difficulties with writing.
Social skills may need to be addressed.
Allow students extra time to complete tasks.
If teaching Physical Education, note that slower-paced activities are better than those requiring a fast response. Students will do better catching a bounced ball than a thrown one; kicking a stationary ball than a moving one.
It is important to ensure that the student feels included and is encouraged to participate.
If students use wheelchairs, where possible place yourself at their eye level when talking to them.
Table-type desks with adequate leg space will need to be considered if the student has a wheelchair.
The board in the classroom may have to be lowered if the student is in a wheelchair.
To facilitate students’ reading, use easels, portable reading racks or adjustable desks.
Microsoft Microsoft Accessibility: Technology for Everyone Accessibility Guide for Educators Check out the Microsoft Accessibility Guide and accessibility features for Windows 7, Internet Explorer 9, and Microsoft Office 2010, and other assistive technology products at the website below: http://www.microsoft.com/enable/education/
CAST: Center for Applied Special Technology The definitive source for UDL in education. http://cast.org/index.html
Closing the Gap The Closing the Gap website provides a variety of articles, resources, and interactive activities related to assistive technology. The site allows searching in a resource directory of computer-related products for individuals with special needs. http://www.closingthegap.com/index.lasso
Assistive Technology & Universal Design for Learning Loan Library Technology & Learning Connections (TLC) Team of the Problem Solving/Response to Intervention Project University of South Florida http://www.at-udl.net/
A variety of resources may be readily available in your school or district to assist students with physical impairments or at cost through an outside agency or business. Use this chart as a resource of information for possible assistive technology tools, both low-tech and high-tech.
*https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Assistive_Technology_in_Education/Physically_Handicapped Disclaimer: Content referencing various software, products, devices, websites, organizations and businesses, both non- and for-profit, may be found on several pages of this wiki. Be advised that FDLRS Gulfcoast does not recommend any particular entity, nor should inclusion of any software, product, device, website, organization, business, or other entity be viewed as a commercial endorsement by FDLRS Gulfcoast, the FDLRS Project Network, or Pinellas County Schools. Information included on this site is for informational and educational purposes only.
Physical/Mobility Function
A physical disability results in a substantial and long term effect on one’s ability to carry out day-to-day activities. Federal Regulations define orthopedic impairment as one that "adversely affects a child’s educational performance." The term includes impairments caused by congenital anomaly, impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis), and impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures).
Physical disabilities and health conditions are deemed either congenital or acquired.
Despite the physical properties, eligibility for special education programs for the orthopedically or physically impaired requires a medical diagnosis. Students with physical impairments may experience difficulty with fine or gross motor skill tasks or neurological impairments that impact organization and independent skills. By law, assistive technology must be considered for all students with an IEP.
The IEP team and the student -together- need to determine how the student's disability affects ability to access physical and curricular materials. Identification of appropriate resources should begin with the "low" tech variety, and work upward on the continuum to a greater degree of involvement should the low tech device prove ineffective. Without the student's involvement, a school team may choose a higher tech item that may prove too complicated, resulting in lack of use.Shelby Nurse is a graduate of the Pinellas County School System. This is Shelby's story in her words.
.
AT Devices for Students with Physical Disabilities
A physical disability can negatively impact student performance in the classroom. Students with physical disabilities may have difficulty gripping objects or manipulating devices rendering them unable to use keyboards, touch screens, and computer mice as other students do.Speech recognition is software that allows control of a computer by talking to it, e.g., a student may speak instructions into a microphone connected to a computer instead of using a mouse and keyboard. Commands such as opening, saving, and deleting a document can be performed or text can be entered into a Word document, for example, just by speaking into the microphone. Several companies which develop and market speech-to-text are Dragon Systems, ViaVoice, and Free Speech.
Those students unable to work with a traditional keyboard may be able to use IntelliKeys, a customizable keyboard designed to meet the needs of students with physical disabilities.
For students with severe disabilities other options include light directed keyboards or the SmartNav 4 or Dynavox that allows the student to move the mouse through head movements. See the videos below.*
IEP teams need to consider the impact of a student's physical disability on his or her functioning in the school setting. This chart identifies some of the possible educational impacts of students with orthopedic or physical impairment and those with a traumatic brain injury.
Switch mount - https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6423998
Some accommodations to try in the classroom...
Information and Resources ---
Cerebral Palsy Fact Sheet
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/cp/
Spina Bifida
Kids Health
http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/spina-bifida-factsheet.html
Shriner's Hospital
http://www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org/Locations/tampa/Care/Orthopaedics?gclid=CjwKEAiAirXFBRCQyvL279Tnx1ESJAB-G-QvJ05_s9fnpW_JiGBygq9upUki11wXcJ2fS2iRv7gdShoCNTDw_wcB
Traumatic Brain Injury
BrainlineKids.org
http://www.brainline.org/content/2008/07/classroom-interventions-students-traumatic-brain-injuries_pageall.html
Classroom Modifications and Strategies
http://ese.dadeschools.net/tbi/2classroom.html
How to Help: Students with Traumatic Brain Injuries
http://www.teachhub.com/how-help-students-traumatic-brain-injuries
Microsoft
Microsoft Accessibility: Technology for Everyone
Accessibility Guide for Educators
Check out the Microsoft Accessibility Guide and accessibility features for Windows 7, Internet Explorer 9, and Microsoft Office 2010, and other assistive technology products at the website below:
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/education/
Apple
Apple in Education: Physical and Motor Skills
Explore different ways students can adjust and control their Apple computer.
http://www.apple.com/education/special-education/#motor-skills
Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative (WATI)
Assessing Students' Needs for Assistive Technology (ASNAT) 5th Edition
http://www.wati.org/?pageLoad=content/supports/free/index.php
AbleData
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
US Department of Education
http://www.abledata.com/abledata.cfm
CAST: Center for Applied Special Technology
The definitive source for UDL in education.
http://cast.org/index.html
Closing the Gap
The Closing the Gap website provides a variety of articles, resources, and interactive activities related to assistive technology. The site allows searching in a resource directory of computer-related products for individuals with special needs.
http://www.closingthegap.com/index.lasso
Assistive Technology & Universal Design for Learning Loan Library
Technology & Learning Connections (TLC) Team of the Problem Solving/Response to Intervention Project
University of South Florida
http://www.at-udl.net/
TECHMATRIX: Assistive Technology (good resource for device determination)
http://techmatrix.org/home
A variety of resources may be readily available in your school or district to assist students with physical impairments or at cost through an outside agency or business. Use this chart as a resource of information for possible assistive technology tools, both low-tech and high-tech.
*https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Assistive_Technology_in_Education/Physically_Handicapped
Disclaimer: Content referencing various software, products, devices, websites, organizations and businesses, both non- and for-profit, may be found on several pages of this wiki. Be advised that FDLRS Gulfcoast does not recommend any particular entity, nor should inclusion of any software, product, device, website, organization, business, or other entity be viewed as a commercial endorsement by FDLRS Gulfcoast, the FDLRS Project Network, or Pinellas County Schools. Information included on this site is for informational and educational purposes only.